Success at Last

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July 31, 2014

Ranger 7 captured these images as it barreled toward the Moon on July 31, 1964, becoming the first success in the American lunar program. It transmitted more than 4,300 pictures before its planned crash into the Moon along the border between the Sea of Clouds and the Ocean of Storms. The region was later renamed Mare Cognitum -- the Known Sea -- in honor of Ranger's accomplishment. These images were snapped (left to right, top to bottom) from ranges of roughly 1,500, 575, 430, and 60 miles. [NASA]

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